Advice on dealing with antique furniture

[Cameron Wood]

I have a couple of pieces that appear to be Dutch Colonial antiques from Sri Lanka made from Jackfruit and ebony.

Basically rescuing from the landfill, from an estate. I literally pulled these out of a dumpster.

The chest I did some repair, may add feet or a base. It is made from six boards, the top board is 19" wide. I might be able to find a home for this, but it's big.

The other is a large armoire cabinet, over 6' tall. The sides, back, & doors & top all fit together with short tenons- assembles with no fasteners.

It's pretty intact, but there is no market for a piece like this. I'm thinking of taking it apart for the wood, & maybe cutting down the base to make base for the chest. The big turned feet could be offered as turning blanks.
The last pic shows surfaced planks that may have been shelves.
Sorry about the bad pics.
Thoughts?


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[Peter Schussheim]

I have a couple of pieces that appear to be Dutch Colonial antiques from Sri Lanka made from Jackfruit and ebony.


Are you certain of the wood types? What makes you believe these are dutch colonial from sri lanka? Asking because i'd like to know what information you used to determine those details.

I am absolutely NOT an expert or even a student of dutch colonial antique furniture, however, the hardware on the third photo looks like it isn't from the dutch colonial era.

My gut tells me unless you are certain these are genuine antiques, restoring them probably will be more effort and time than a buyer would pay for them. Take my advice with a grain of salt and hopefully others here will have more information. The wood looks pretty nice and if it were me I would probably reclaim it.

[Cameron Wood]

Are you certain of the wood types? What makes you believe these are dutch colonial from sri lanka? Asking because i'd like to know what information you used to determine those details.

I am absolutely NOT an expert or even a student of dutch colonial antique furniture, however, the hardware on the third photo looks like it isn't from the dutch colonial era.

My gut tells me unless you are certain these are genuine antiques, restoring them probably will be more effort and time than a buyer would pay for them. Take my advice with a grain of salt and hopefully others here will have more information. The wood looks pretty nice and if it were me I would probably reclaim it.


No, not certain- just based on brief online search. The cabinet has paper stickers inside saying "made in Sri Lanka", suggesting that it was exported in some more modern, but not recent time. The hinges do look more modern, but on close inspection they and the drawer pulls and handles, are not original. I think the pieces belonged to the parents of the estate principle, who passed recently in his 80s, so they could have been imported in the '60s, but were certainly made much longer ago than that.
A couple of reference pics, & thanks for the feedback.


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[Maurice Mcmurry]

When was it that Ceylon turned into Sri Lanka? Not long ago if memory serves.

1972. I guess it is long enough for antique status, if not vintage for sure.

[Mel Fulks]

Both pieces look like 17th century pieces ,perhaps Dutch …or English . NOT saying they are….But it’s the kind of stuff needed in big
old houses. Consult interior decorators.